Vol 30, No 2 (2015)

November Issue

Diabetes continues to plague every region in the world and every region, including Southeast Asia, will have to face this disease with action plans or care models that are as diverse as the cultures that make up the ASEAN respective member nations. The region shares a commonality, the production and consumption of rice and the widespread use of coconut cream and oil. These staples make up the foundation of their diet, yet every ASEAN country is distinct in its food heritage. Each has had its share of western influence on diet and healthcare delivery, some American, some European. Yet there is, to a variable degree in each, the Chinese heritage as well as an Indian influence on culture and culinary arts that even predate the western colonial concepts. And every country has its unique politics, specifically how much of the healthcare delivery is subsidized by the national government. Indeed it is a jigsaw puzzle for the stakeholders to solve. What are they each to do to know more about the profile of those afflicted with diabetes in their country? What treatment plans succeed, who will compose the multidisciplinary team? And very important, what resources are available and who will pay? Most ASEAN countries share another commonality, a treatment gap between rural and urban areas. How does each nation trickle down diabetes care to far flung rural areas and what interventions are feasible and acceptable to poor rural dwellers? Every ASEAN country has its healthcare system that has evolved in time, incorporating both traditional and scientific know how in healthcare delivery to battle this juggernaut of a puzzle called diabetes.